The Brave and The Killer
by BossC
Summary: Patricia protected her team at all costs but what if someone she trusted turned on them? Dalton and his Special Operations Group were heading overseas, but how accurate is the info they were given?
1. Chapter 1

**The Brave and The Killer**

US Military Base Incirlik, Turkey: 1pm Local time.

The high-pitched alarm sounded. Everyone turned to the computer. It was time for an assignment. Captain Adam Dalton, leader of the Special Operations Group, approached the secure computer and entered his pass code on the keyboard. The screen blinked before Deputy Director Patricia Campbell came into focus on the screen. She addressed the special ops leader, "Dalton, get your team ready."

"What's the case?" Dalton looked around at his approaching members.

"We got a call from the DPSD asking…"

"The what?" The group's medic, Joseph McGuire, had a hard time keeping track of all the abbreviations everyone used.

"The French Directorate for Defense Protection and Security." She shot the hothead a disapproving look, as he mumbled, "That's a mouthful."

The director didn't hear him and pressed of with the briefing, "They contacted us after family members of a top agent were kidnapped."

"Why us?" The Chief Petty Officer was nicknamed "Preach" for his words of wisdom.

"The agent reached out to me directly." A new voice made the crew immediately tense as Unit Director Steve Hampton stepped into the video frame, "I worked with her a few years ago."

"Her?"

"Officer Yvette Dubois; worked undercover with ISIS for several years, now is stationed out of Paris—still working terrorism as far as I know."

Noah Morgenthau, part of the technology unit in Virginia, pushed her photo onto the screen. Dalton leaned toward the computer to look at the photo.

"Director…that is ISIS sympathizer Adiva Baqri!" Intelligence officer Amir Al-Raisani recognized the woman in the photo.

"No, she is DPSD. She was undercover when you met." The director was ready for the question.

Amir's mouth dropped open. "No way. There was no indication she wasn't a supporter…"

"That only proves how good she was." The director interrupted him, "Look, I know you have a history with her and that is one reason why we need you to go. It will be harder for her to fool someone she's worked with before."

"I only worked with her thinking she was a terrorist." Amir objected, "Not someone on my side."

"But you still have a baseline and experiences with her and can read her actions." The director reminded, "Her sister and niece, Jennifer and Amanda Dubois, have gone missing and we want you to help Yvette track them down."

"Do we have any leads on what we are facing?" As the leader, Dalton had to come up with a plan.

"As of this time there has been no ransom demand and we are still scrubbing surveillance cameras to see if we can find them." Hannah Riverera, the mission coordinator and former field agent was also in the office early.

"So we're heading to Paris?" Preach, the old man of the group, thought that was a good place to start.

"Yes." Patricia was not fully comfortable with the idea of Director Hampton taking over her team. Even if it was her boss. He was not usually hand's on: he would give her the task and she was on her own to figure it out with the on the ground team.

"Do we think they are still in France?" Jaz wondered. She was a top sniper for the US and the only girl of the Special Operations team.

"They live in London." Noah, the lead analyst chimed in, "London police got a call about a break in, but when they got to the address there was no sign of the family."

"I got the call four hours ago from Agent Dubois asking if we could help." Director Hampton added.

"If there are no leads what are we supposed to do when we get there?" Dalton didn't understand this mission.

"Yvette is an ally and we are going to assist her." The director's voice was firm.

"The task right now is to meet Yvette in Paris and see if she has any leads." Patricia added.

"But the mission will change when things are clearer." McG pointed out.

"We are sending you because you are the best at improvising and coming up with plans." Patricia complimented them with a 'don't argue' look through the screen.

"Last time I improvised, I ended up being tortured in Tehran." Jaz grumbled under her breath. The computer microphone didn't pick up on her words, but her team did. That mission had been emotionally rough on all of them but she was the one who faced the professional interrogators and physical pain.

"If we can find her family, she will owe us a favor and we like collecting those." Hampton revealed.

"Wheels up in one hour." Patricia told them, "Flight is fueling up as we speak."

"Grab your gear." Dalton told his crew as he ended the call. He closed the computer to pack it up.

"I don't like this Top." Preach used their leader's nickname.

Dalton hesitated. While he agreed with Preach, wouldn't countermand their orders, "Let's work on some contingency plans."

"How can we be sure she's on our side?" Amir was still reeling.

"Director Hampton was pretty sure about that." Dalton pointed out.

Preach shrugged, "A friend of a friend is not always a friend to you."

Dalton tried not to wince. He didn't need any foreboding hints. Today was already not going the way he had planned. At the equipment cage, the rest of the military special ops team selected items needed for Europe and loaded bags of supplies.

"You ok?" McG nudged Amir. The intelligence officer had been quiet.

"Fine." He kept it short.

"You thought she was a terrorist, huh." McG teased.

"I'm supposed to be good at reading people, this is not what I expected." Amir's undercover past kept him from fully trusting anyone and this news was throwing him for a loop.

"Everybody makes mistakes."

"I'm just hoping this one won't cost us." Amir zipped up his bags. He watched Jaz and Preach's friendly argument about which supplies are needed before Dalton got their attention.

"Plane's on the tarmac. Let's go."

Walking to the airplane, Amir reflected on the woman he remembered. She was the niece of Zafer, an elder member of the terrorist group he infiltrated. They had been living at the compound before Amir joined and she was one of very few women there.

Within two months of his arrival, Zafar was found to have met with a police officer. The leader of the cell, Rakin, was paranoid and irate at the news.

"He was an old friend, I didn't consider that he was law enforcement." Zafar told them.

"I don't care." Rakin threatened him with a gun

"Please, don't kill him!" Adiva begged on her knees.

"He is a traitor." Rakin insisted.

Amir had to choose where he stood. Both were bad options but he theorized that Zafer was a killer and his loss would give Amir a better chance with the leadership so he chose to remain silent.

Adiva begged for him to be given another chance but Zafar looked resigned, "Adiva, it's going to be ok."

"No it's not!"

"My child…" the man had comforted her in his final moments.

"You didn't do anything wrong." She cupped his face.

Rakin gestured to Amir to move her away. He had grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back from her uncle.

"Please don't." She faced Amir, her tearful face tugging at his emotions, but he remained expressionless and held her back.

Rakin didn't even blink as he pulled the trigger. Adiva covered her face as Zafar crumpled, "No." She groaned.

Amir gripped her tightly as she went limp in his arms. She sobbed as men kicked the corpse to be sure he was dead. Exactly what he had said to her in the moment, Amir couldn't recall. Later on, he had seduced her to keep her close.

Or maybe she seduced him; looking back, he wasn't sure. He remembered their conversations and her actions and couldn't see evidence of her loyalty. Certainly nothing that made him think she was an investigator. Her Arabic was impeccable, no Western accent to give him any clue she wasn't a native. Or maybe he wasn't as good as he expected.

Now, the team settled into the military plane in preparation for their journey.

"Hampton has gotten your team cleared with France Intelligence to work with Agent Dubois." Patricia spoke to Dalton as they took off for the new country, "You will meet her at Café Basile on Boulevard Pasteur."

Dalton jotted the name down, "Roger that."

"Safe travels." Patricia signed off.

Dalton turned off the phone and slid it into his bag. "Amir." He gestured to the team member. They stepped away from the others.

"Is this going to be a problem?" The leader asked

"What do you mean?"

"Are there reasons we shouldn't trust her?" Dalton clarified.

"I only saw her as a sympathizer. I've been trying to recall anything that could be interpreted as… anything other than a terrorist." Amir went silent.

"And?"

"Nothing…I would not have picked her out as an intelligence officer."

"Maybe she's not. But with the director involved…." Dalton went silent as the plane taxied to the runway. "Anything else we should know?"

"I was sleeping with her. Not that it would come up, but you probably should know." Amir admitted.

"You identified her from a photo; I did kind of figure that," Dalton chuckled, "Do you trust her?"

Amir considered his answer. Being told that she was a French officer made him want to believe she was trustworthy. But if she was good at convincing terrorists she was on their side, her skill level was top notch and if she had fooled him before, there was no reason she couldn't do it again.

"I really don't know." Amir

Dalton sighed. He had a bad feeling about this assignment.


	2. Chapter 2

Langley, Virginia

"Now that we have the team heading to Paris, you need to give her a call so she can be expecting them." Director Hampton was good at delegating.

"And what are you going to do?" Patricia wondered.

"I have work to do." He left the office, his phone in his hand, eyes on the screen, thumbs moving over the electronics.

"He gave me this to reach her." Noah handed his boss a small card with a number scrawled on it.

Patricia accepted the paper and headed for her office. She dialed the number and waited for the international number to connect.

"Bonjour." A female voice answered.

"My name is Patricia Campbell, I work with the DIA in America. Director Hampton gave me your number."

"Thank you for calling Ms. Campbell." The woman responded, "I'm Yvette Dubois."

"Director Hampton gave me a quick briefing but I wanted to see what else you could ad."

"What did he tell you?"

Patricia liked the woman's French accent, "Your sister and niece have been kidnapped and need help getting them back."

"I'll take whatever you can offer."

"We have a team in Turkey that is flying your direction."

"Did you get it cleared by my bosses?" Yvette sounded surprised.

"Director Hampton said he talked to someone in intelligence."

"That's good."

"How long have you known the director?" Patricia felt a small pause before her reply. That could be a red flag and Patricia straightened up and concentrated on the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Feels like forever. We worked together years ago."

"Really? When?"

"Joint French-US relations, still classified on our end, not sure about yours."

"Our team was told to meet you at Café Basile. Will that work?"

"Absolutely."

"It's a three-hour flight but they should be there before too long."

"Where are they entering?"

Patricia noticed Yvette was vague and non-committal in her comments which was another red flag. She responded in kind, "Military plane."

"I look forward to meeting them. Thanks for the call."


	3. Chapter 3

Paris, France: 4:30 pm local time

The blond hair and blue eyes of the leader Dalton was a giveaway in Middle Eastern countries, but here in Europe, he blended in. The five special operations individuals headed to the rendezvous.

"The café is on the next street." Jaz was following the map on her phone.

"McG pull into that parking spot." Top directed. McG parked easily and the group slid out of the vehicle.

"Preach, stay here." Dalton wanted to keep their options open, "McG stay with him."

The remaining three approached the café on foot. Rounding the corner and clearing the buildings Amir saw Yvette first. She was reading a book. "Table on the right side of the building." Amir directed their attention. Dalton saw their contact and raised a hand. The movement caught her eye and she noticed the American. He gestured to the side of the shop. She nodded in reply. Dalton led his team to the side of the café.

Yvette was right behind them, "Bonsoir, I am Yvette Dubois…." She offered her hand in greeting to Dalton but as her eyes saw the others, she reacted to Amir, "Why is…."

"Amir Al-Raisani, US intelligence." He preempted her questions.

She looked confused and eyes narrowed, stepping back, smoothly put distance between them, "You are a terrorist."

"I was undercover." Amir told her, "I'm with American Intelligence."

"Undercover…" She looked away, mumbling something in French before switching to English, "I will have to yell at my bosses for not telling me."

"They might not have known." Amir suggested.

"Oh, they knew." Yvette raised her eyebrows, "It was stupid not to tell me."

"Adam Dalton," He offered his hand. The foreign operative shook it, "Yvette Dubois."

"Jaz Khan and Amir Al-Raisani." Dalton finished the introductions. Yvette nodded politely.

"How can we help you?"

"The kidnapping was in London, why would they come here?" Yvette asked.

"If they are after you, they should show up here." Jaz pointed out.

"That's an assumption." She glanced over to the woman, "A good one, but still an assumption."

"Why did you call Director Hampton?" Amir asked.

"He didn't tell you?" She wondered. When no one responded, she continued, "We have a history."

"We don't usually work for the director so this is a bit new for us." Amir added.

"You don't trust him? Your own Director?" Yvette's eyes narrowed.

"But we trust our Unit director and she sent us here."

"Hmm," Yvette observed, "That's a difficult way to work."

"It is hard for us to trust you, considering we thought you were a terrorist." Dalton reminded her.

Yvette narrowed her eyes, "The only person who thought that was Hamid…"

"Amir." He corrected her.

"And we trust him." Jaz pointed out, "WE don't trust you."

Yvette raised her eyebrow, "You showed up with a compromised agent and a man I thought was a terrorist and you think I instantly trust you?"

"Compromised agent?" Jaz looked at the guys.

"You were arrested in Tehran and claimed to be French. French Intelligence noticed." Yvette pointed out.

Dalton stepped up, "We can either keep arguing about how neither of us trusts eachother or we can work together and hopefully find your sister and niece."

She considered the words, "And it's just the three of you?"

"We have a couple more." Dalton volunteered.

"And where are they?" Yvette asked.

"With the car."

"I have a safe house not too far away. We can regroup there."


	4. Chapter 4

Virginia, 11am US time

The room filled with the electronic sounds of keyboard keys echoing as the team members worked through the available data. The two American workers, Noah and Hannah, struggled with their task.

"Jessica has practically no digital footprint!" Noah was frustrated as his lack of findings, "No social media and I'm not even finding any email—and that is odd."

"Her bank account is only 3 years old; before that there is nothing." Hannah was struggling with her own assignment.

"But that is still three years of records you can search for patterns and previous payments." He tried to encourage her, "I'm stuck looking for her in the background of any photo posted to social media in London. That's over 8 million locals plus tourists—that's a lot of photos!"

"Her London bank account has two hundred and fifty-three dollars and a quarter. There is a reoccurring monthly deposit into the account and then almost the entire amount withdrawn in cash." Hannah had little info, "So there's no spending history and no credit cards in her name—not even a business one." She groaned as he hit that dead end.

"So she pays cash for everything?"

"Looks like it."

"What does she do?" Noah was slightly interested.

"Not sure about that either." Hannah flexed her hands as they cramped from constant typing.

"Who pays the direct deposit?"

"UK Banking Corporation, but I don't see her listed as an employee." She leaned back, silently considering her options.

"Are we debating who has the harder assignment?" Noah realized. Hannah laughed.

"I guess we were."

"Well, I have over 8 million photos to sort through, so I'm claiming the win there."

"But you at least have a starting point, I don't even have that." Hannah objected.

"I need a break. I'm going to get a snack." Noah headed to the vending machine.

Hannah rubbed her head. This was giving her a headache. Finance was hard to read—the numbers blended together after hours of looking.

_Time for something new._

She switched screens, pulling up the airport footage from London and began searching. People from all over the world were streaming through the London terminals and Hannah engaged a computer program to identify which individuals needed a closer look.

But human instinct can be keen. Hannah noticed a figure and switched the screen to play the video at regular speed. She reversed it before hitting pause. The technician blinked as she stared at the image. _This has got to be wrong._

She enhanced the screen but her first thought was right.

_Director Hampton was in London_. There he was on security cameras entering the international terminal for departures. _How'd he get there? _Hannah wondered. She pulled up the US customs system and searched through the documents. There was no record of Hampton's passport clearing customs to enter the country—or exit.

_That makes no sense! _

"That is Director Hampton right?" Hannah asked Noah as he came back from the breakroom.

He looked up from his bag of pork rinds, "Yeah. Whoa, is that London?"

"Yes, after the alarm at Jennifer's house."

"What is he doing there?"

"I don't know. There are no records in his name at customs." Hannah's brow wrinkled.

"Second passport?" Noah suggested. The two exchanged a look. A director didn't work undercover and as he was a public person, his identity is known by most countries so it made no sense for him to travel on an alias passport. And a second passport didn't mean anything good.

"We better get Patricia."


	5. Chapter 5

5pm Paris.

The safe house was in a populated part of town but away from the typical tourist locations. The operatives exited the vehicle and each grabbed a bag. Yvette headed to the door fiddling with her keys to find the right one.

Dalton pulled Amir back and paused to be sure Yvette was out of earshot. "Can you manipulate her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Seduce her."

Amir did a double take, "What?"

"We need to get a read on her and what is really going on. Find a tell so we can stay ahead of her or at least know when she is lying." The captain advised.

Yvette noticed their huddle but McG asked a question which took her attention away from the two men.

"I'm not sure it will work." Amir was honest.

"We've got to do something. You've got history with her to build on so you can read her. We need to push and keep her off balance." Dalton stepped toward the building. Amir shook his head, "We'll see."

Yvette was walking the team through the house when Amir and Dalton caught up to them, "Kitchen down the hall on the right, it's stocked if you need something to eat or drink. Upstairs rooms are just bedrooms and a balcony."

Preach took their bags upstairs to be out of the way and Dalton pulled out the secure laptop. Yvette stepped back to let the Americans set up in the open room and slipped out of sight. Amir saw her move and with a nod to Dalton followed her.

He rounded the corner to the foyer and saw her resting against the wall. Amir paused, watching her. Yvette's eyes were closed, head leaning on the wall. She took a long breath. She opened her eyes and jumped when she turned and saw him.

"I…uh, needed a minute. It's been a long day."

"It's ok." He smoothly blocked her exit, "Do you think your sister was kidnapped because of your job?"

"That's the theory. Hampton seems to agree with it." She responded.

"I have worried about my family being targeted due to my undercover assignments."

"You did tell me about your family, was it true or a cover story?"

Amir shrugged, "The truth is easier to remember than coming up with a lie. But I did worry about revealing too much. What you are facing is every operative's fear."

Yvonne winced.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse." He backtracked.

"You didn't."

"You don't have to pretend to be so strong. This has got to be hard. I am sorry you are dealing with this."

"Thank you." Yvette did appear to be relaxing so Amir decided to chance it.

"Do you want to talk about us?"

She blinked in surprise, "My family was just kidnapped. Now I am working with people I don't know or trust and you want me to talk about our history?"

"You trusted me once."

"Not exactly."

"Yeah you did." Amir dropped his voice trying to make her feel more comfortable.

Yvette paused before responding, "My alias trusted you."

"Your alias was very trusting." Amir recalled their time together, "I was comfortable with you."

She paused, watching him, "Me too." She admitted.

He stepped toward her, "Do you have any questions for me?"

"So many; but probably none you can answer."

"Try me."

Yvette recalled their meeting, "I thought you were the linchpin for the group. You were so confident…you convinced Ackmeed to detonate."

"That was his idea." Amir stated.

"But you didn't stop him."

"If I stopped him, there would have been others to take his place; he had to make his decision."

"And he chose to step into the shopping mall." Yvette pointed out.

The reminder felt like a knife to the heart and Amir struggled to remain expressionless. Seventeen civilian casualties, plus the boy, died when he detonated a suicide vest on a busy shopping day. Dozens more were injured but survived.

"And that's why I was pulled out. But it was hard leaving." He stepped closer to Yvette. She didn't flinch at his nearness and kept eye contact, "Leaving you. That was two years of my life."

"Mine too." Yvette admitted.

"I looked forward to spending time with you. Mostly in bed, but the simple conversations mattered." Amir treaded carefully, "They kept me going."

Yvette's eyes traveled over her companion; "My family is missing and you think I want to go down memory lane?"

"Why not?" Amir leaned toward the woman.

Yvette closed her eyes and whispered into his ear, "That's one way to pass the time."

Amir blinked at her reaction as she turned to face him. Their eyes locked. He felt like he was back in Africa. Undercover, he was alone to protect himself as he worked to be indispensable to the cell. But lonely is a hard way to live. The shooting of Zafar and the split-second decision to hold Yvette back changed his life in ways he hadn't planned on. Her tears and apparent grief at the loss of what he thought was thought to be a family member really affected him. Amir had let her get close, physically and emotionally. Through the days and months that followed in Africa, he realized that he actually enjoyed their times together. With her, he was able to relax and not worry about his cover.

Now in Paris, Amir studied her expression. She was tougher than he had expected and that was throwing him. Yvette reached for his face.

"But I'd rather find my sister." She moved around him to get back to the others.

Amir paused. Seeing her after so many years was bringing back a lot of memories and feelings. He had to get control of himself and do his job.

Dalton looked up when Yvette entered the room. Amir was a moment behind her. Dalton glanced at the American. Amir slightly shook his head.

"What do we know about the kidnapping?" Preach wondered.

"Burglar alarm went off at 6:12 pm but when the police arrived at 6:37, they found nothing. No evidence of a kidnapping…a few things out of place which just seemed to be messy housekeeping. Here is that the official police report." Yvette picked the pages off a desk.

"But there was no ransom note." Dalton clarified.

"No, to that's one reason I think it's connected to me or my job." Yvette responded.

Preach read over the papers she handed him, "How do you have this?"

"It's been what…24 hours… most departments wouldn't be releasing this report yet." McG wondered.

She shrugged, "Professional courtesy."

Dalton raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"My intelligence cover is Gendarmerie Nationale."

"What?"

"Police….investigations." She searched for the right word.

The American's computer went off and everyone turned toward it.

Dalton blocked Yvonne's view when he entered his code. Patricia appeared on the screen, "Dalton, get everyone together."

The leader looked around the room. Preach was sitting comfortably in a chair against the wall, McG next to him and Amir and Yvette were avoiding eachother. Jaz entered the room after securing the house and was hanging out in the doorway.

"All here." Dalton informed her.

Patricia did not look happy. She noticed the Frenchwoman in the order of the screen, "Yvette, I am Patricia Campbell, we spoke on the phone."

"Good to see you Director." She addressed the woman on the computer.

"Unfortunately, we now think Director Hampton is part of the kidnapping of your sister and niece, probably is the mastermind. He was in London when the kidnapping happened and flew back to the US immediately following it."

"What?" Dalton felt alarm bells go off as he glanced at Yvette. Her posture was casual, but he felt her eyes take in everything around her. The rest of the team looked at their host, waiting to see her actions.

"We are trying to find his entrance into the county but haven't located it." Noah chimed in from the American side of the conversation.

"Private flight 317 from DC arrived at the Gatwick Airport at 3:49pm." Yvette answered smoothly.

Hannah's head jerked up; she hadn't even thought to check the Gatwick Airport security tapes. Now she had work to do.

"He cleared customs at 4:03pm. Vehicle picked him up outside the airport." Yvette glanced around the others in the room before turning to the computer screen, "And when did you think I figured it out?"

"Excuse me?" Patricia's jaw dropped.

"I video conferenced Director Hampton this morning. I accused him to his face of masterminding my sister and niece's kidnapping."

Her words echoed in the room as Hampton's betrayal hit each American. They were in a foreign country, sent by a possible traitor. And their contact was the wronged Paris spy, a woman who wanted her family back…probably by any means necessary.


	6. The Truth and Facts

5:24pm Paris

"Director Hampton's first response after I accused him of a kidnapping was not to protest his innocence but to send a top military team to "help" me." Yvette looked around the room, "How am I supposed to take that?"

The Americans exchanged glances. _This was not good._

"Do you think I would have sent my team if he had told me all that?" Patricia yanked her glasses off.

"I have no idea where your loyalties lie." Yvette snapped, "Hampton could have convinced you that the kidnapping was part of an op and you sent your team as a hit squad or maybe grab team."

"Seriously!" the charge took Dalton by surprised.

Preach stood up and leaned closer to the conversation. Yvette stepped back, monitoring the space between her and the Americans.

"So you think we were sent to kill you?" Jaz asked.

"You showed up in my country with a man I thought was an ISIS leader, as well as a spy outed by her own country and Dalton…" Yvette trailed off, "interesting military history."

"Hampton was in London during the kidnapping but I can't prove he was actually part of it. We're still working on that part." Patricia revealed.

"I can." Yvette pulled a key out of her pocket and moved to a desk along the wall.

She unlocked a drawer and reached inside. Dalton pulled his bag toward him. His pistol was on top. He rested his hand on the gun but didn't pull it out. Yvette faced the Americans with a file folder and a computer thumb drive in her hands. "Security video from Jennifer's house."

"I had no idea she had a camera." Noah looked at his boss.

"She is my sister so I want to keep an eye on her. And yes, she knew about it." Yvette responded. Her eyes noticed Dalton's hand in his bag but she offered the flash drive to him, "Video of the break in." To Jaz she handed the folder.

"What is this?" Jaz wondered as she opened it.

"Screenshots of the kidnappers."

"And the director was there." Jaz turned the paper around to show everyone. It wasn't the best image, but it was the very man who sent them to France.

"Why would he be hands on for this kidnapping?" Hannah wondered out loud.

"Because this wasn't an authorized job." Patricia realized.

"But this ties him directly to it, why would he do that?" Hannah pressed.

"It's personal to him." Yvette admitted.

Amir noticed a tensing in her jaw and stepped toward her, "What did you do?"

All eyes turned to her. Yvette glanced around the room.

"I'm gathering evidence."

"What kind of evidence?" Patricia wondered.

Yvette's words were calculated, "Hampton kidnapped my family. He believed I had something detrimental to him, something that scared him. I'm not giving any clues without my family back."

"He could vanish." Patricia suggested.

"He kidnapped my family; he will show up eventually."

"We have no idea where they are. That leaves us dead in the water." Preach reminded everyone.

"Actually, we have a lead." Noah glanced at Patricia. Her eyes flared at him. She had hoped to keep that silent for a bit.

"Please don't hold out." Yvette prodded.

"Don't start threatening me." Patricia snapped.

"You need to take a breath." Yvette pointed at the screen, "You backed a man who kidnapped two people I care about which puts your team here in a really bad spot, so don't try to screw me over."

Patricia moved off the video screen to regroup.

Yvette turned her focus to the technician in the corner of the video screen, "Noah, spill it."

"How do you know his name?" McGuire jumped to his feet.

"You know him?" Dalton reeled again from her identifying their office technician, Noah.

"We met in Bucharest. You had really bad info if you didn't know that." Her posture was straight, strong and projected confidence.

"He mentioned it." Patricia defended her technician.

"I didn't know." McG mumbled. Dalton shot him a glare to silence him.

Yvette's eyes studied Noah through the screen. He was uncomfortable.

"I am working with the country who kidnapped my family, this is not easy for me." She reminded them.

"It wasn't us." Dalton snapped.

"How do I know that?" Yvette retorted, "Hampton snaps his fingers and you jump."

"He's a director."

"He's a traitor." Yvette snapped, "A man who turns on his own country has no morals and no boundaries. He chose to send you here which must mean he has great confidence in your abilities."

"Do you have evidence of treason?" Patricia wondered.

Amanda's face showed no emotion and she didn't respond.

"We found footage of them getting on a plane in London." Noah burst out.

"Them?" Jaz wanted clarification.

"Jennifer and Amanda."

"Destination?" Yvette pushed.

"Washington DC."

"Not the same flight with Hampton?" Yvette winced.

"No, he left two hours prior."

"Where did they go?"

"Never left the airport." Hannah chipped in.

"What? How can they get on a plane but not leave?" Dalton questioned.

"They got through security with tickets for a flight to Washington DC, but we have the video of the terminal they were supposed to fly from and they never showed up." Noah recounted.

"Who was with them at security?" Preach wondered.

"Two guys that we don't know." Hannah had been trying to identify them.

"Can I see the photos?" the Frenchwoman asked.

Noah clicked the tab on the computer and sent it to their secure laptop.

Dalton opened the document. Yvette stepped closer, focusing on the images, "They are not trying to hide their faces."

"It's an airport, doing that would alarm security." McG pointed out.

"Those aren't the men from the house." Jaz compared the photos to the ones in her hand.

Amir had been studying his former lover, Yvette knew something, "Do you know either of them?"

Yvette backed up, rubbing her palms together, thinking, "Have you arrested Hampton?" She addressed Patricia, ignoring Amir's question.

Patricia sighed, "He boarded a flight out of the country."

"Destination?"

"Paris."

Yvette winced, "This is not going to go well."

"We set up at the airport and get him when he arrives." Dalton finally felt like he had options, "What time?"

"9pm." Noah told them.

"How do you know he's on it?" Yvette asked, "He's a spy and knows misdirection."

"Video shows him arriving at the terminal, his boarding pass was scanned and he boarded the plane." Hannah revealed.

"Well, we didn't see him get on the actual plane." Noah admitted.

"He entered the gangway thing connected to the plane. That's the only way to exit." Hannah argued.

"In Washington DC? The CIA has their fingers in everything. An airport switch is a piece of cake: maintenance doors, bribed employees..." Yvette rubbed her neck, "All I want is to get my sister and niece back. The problem is Hampton was able to organize and complete a kidnaping and make it back to the US before anyone really noticed. He definitely has a plan and it seems to be going really well so far."

"How come you didn't notice?" McG wanted to know. The others stopped. They hadn't thought of that.

"You said 'this morning' when you called Hampton: the kidnapping was yesterday—that was hours before you called him." McG pointed out.

Yvette was silent a moment, "I was working when the alarm went off. My handler had to check the apartment and it was only after he couldn't find Jennifer or Amanda that he started to work to get me out."

"You couldn't just leave? How deep were you?" Amir wondered.

"Deep. Could have lost the identity we worked years on setting up."

Dalton stepped up, "This is the only clue we have. We need to go to the airport. There's got to be somebody or some lead on the plane. Can you get us in the airport? Or are we going to have to buy tickets?"

Yvette eyed the American leader. "Let me make some calls." She moved away.

"Dalton," Patricia's voice was quiet. He stepped close to the screen.

"Watch your back. Hampton played me so she's not going to trust you. She could turn on you."

"She had the opportunity to arrest us when we arrived." Dalton objected.

"That could still be the plan." McG spoke up.

"I don't think so." Amir noted, "She's stressed, sure, but not aggressive toward us and is mostly relaxed."

"Or is she giving us enough rope to hang ourselves?" Preach wondered.

Jaz followed Yvette when she left the room. Yvette's conversation was in French but Jaz tried to casually eavesdrop but Yvette paced through the house. Whether it was planned or a nervous habit, her movements kept Jaz from hearing the full conversation.

"We have done nothing wrong." Dalton reminded.

"But Hampton has. Just be careful." Patricia counseled her leader.

"Always." Dalton signed off. He looked up as Jaz came back into the room, "I heard 'airport' a couple of times and 'security' but not much else."

Yvette ended the call and joined them, "They are calling in extra security on site and we can be there too."

"This isn't a way to double cross us, is it?" McG was skeptical.

"I want my sister and niece back safe."

"That wasn't an answer." Amir pointed out. Yvette met his gaze, "I will do whatever it gets to take them back."

"Including turning on us." Preach's low voice held an ominous reminder.

_This could be dangerous._ They all recognized this fact.


	7. Paris International Airport

7:30pm Paris

The operatives walked into the Paris International Airport. They had been here only hours before but now they were on a mission. The men and women darted between the tourists and past the check in counters toward the security checkpoint.

Yvette stopped at the police door near security. Knocking, she held her badge in her hand. A man came to the door, "I am Officer Yvette Dubois, we are here to meet a plane. Your boss was supposed to be briefed."

The man asked a question in French and Yvette responded in kind. He headed into the office area leaving them outside the secure room. Yvette turned back to the Americans.

"Breathe, this is Paris; it's not supposed to be breakneck speed." She saw their anxiety.

"You're the one supposed to be stressed at finally meeting Hampton." Dalton pointed out.

"He's not on the plane." She said it so matter-of-factly.

"How can you be sure?" Jaz wondered.

"Taking a commercial flight will mean he has only one choice: the main exit, one way into the airport. He needs choices: ways to get out, many doors to use."

A man approached the group from the office. Dalton noticed the supervisor stripes on his uniform. The man spoke quickly to Yvette in French. Yvette shook his hand and introduced the team as an American embassy security attachment.

"Embassy?" Jaz raised her eyebrows when the locals stepped away.

"Would you prefer to be arrested for not having a work permit?" Yvette grimaced, "They want us to go through security. You don't have any weapons, right?"

"What do you take us for?" Dalton gave a non-answer as he made a mental note. _She is not vouching for us._

"You went from the airport to the embassy so I'm pretty sure you got weapons." Yvette pointed out as they moved to the airport checkpoint.

"How do you know that?" Jaz wondered.

"Do you really think I am going to let a special operations team lose in Paris without any overwatch?" She raised her eyebrows then turned away from the team and stepped through security.

The Americans looked at eachother. Every new fact threw them off balance. But the only way to go was forward. Dalton took the lead and stepped toward the metal detector. They would see this job through no matter the cost.

2:47pm, USA

"Any chance we can get a copy of the flight manifest?" Hannah wondered as they waited for the plane to touch down.

"Airline wants a warrant and we don't have enough yet." Patricia told them.

"How about FISA?" Noah recommended.

"Don't even joke about that." Hannah retorted.

"I would rather deal with Tehren than that screwed up process." Patricia stood behind her main two analysts watching multiple video feeds from the Paris airport. "You look rough." She told Dalton through the earpieces the Americans wore.

"This is my traveling look." He teased.

"Not a good look on you." She threw back.

"I told him that already." Jaz smiled at the banter.

"How'd you get the Paris cameras?" Dalton wondered.

"Don't ask." Noah chimed in.

The US bound crew fell silent as they waited. The quiet was uncomfortable.

"How did you meet Yvette?" Hannah asked Noah. She had been dying to ask him and kept waiting for Patricia to leave. But that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Noah glanced at Patricia. She nodded.

"I met her on my first job out of the Farm. Before I decided that operations was more my style." Noah shrugged.

"You were a field agent?" Hannah's eyes widened.

Noah looked flustered, "Only one job."

"What happened?"

"An American operative went silent after arriving in Romania and I was supposed to find him. Yvette was also after the American."

"But you found him first?"

"We found him together. He was dead. Evidence said he was killed before I arrived."

"Who killed him?" Hannah asked.

"No idea, I never heard what happened."

"And Yvette?"

"Helped me get away from the locals. My language skills weren't very good and they spotted me as an American. The country was having law and order issues and I would have been good for ransom. She helped me avoid the kidnapping. But we were rural and there was no one to turn to. We were on the run together for two stressful days trying to get back to Bucharest. We got found a couple of times. She's a tough fighter. And I…I wasn't." He recalled, "She protected me and got me to the American embassy. You learn a lot about someone when they are under pressure."

"Hopefully that is enough." Patricia had already pulled the reports to check Noah's history with Yvette. Noah had no prior assignments before meeting Yvette who was already a highly experienced foreign agent and she definitely was in control of that situation.

It was now a red flag but it was Hampton who recommended Noah for the field job in Romania. Hampton had taught some classes at the training farm and Noah's skills had impressed him. Patricia was glad Noah was in the US and not on the scene to be manipulated, especially with his Hampton connection. Of course, Patricia also checked Amir's file and the years he spent with Yvette and the terrorist's group. After reading the reports from the Africa terrorism unit, she was worried about Amir. That assignment was over two years long and everyone has a breaking point.

_Is he really in control, or is Yvette?_


	8. The Flight Arrives

Paris International Airport, 9:04 pm

Amir couldn't focus on the situation at hand. He kept looking at Yvette. She was silent, yet watching everything happening around her in the airport terminal. Amir recalled her actions while they were undercover in Africa at the training camp. She somehow kept the compound running for over 20 guys. He realized her household tasks gave her license to snoop. His intelligence had to come direct from the men, but they could embellish stories or outright lie and Amir wouldn't know the difference.

The American team spread themselves around the open terminal. The glass windows along the wall gave space for surveillance and they could watch the airport employees doing their job as the plane approached. Yvette's eyes glanced over the American team and the other individuals waiting in the terminal.

"Nous ouvrons la porte." Airport security radioed Yvette.

"Airport door opening." She translated. The Americans focused on the airplane exit.

Amir noticed Yvette looked at a flight attendant. Amir followed her eyeline and saw noticed the other woman give a slight nod. His focus snapped to attention. Just because he wanted to trust Yvette doesn't mean he should. He looked around the space as passengers began exiting the plane.

Several men were the first group into the airport. They were dressed in suits and carried laptop bags obviously looking like businessmen. McG did wonder about them but they didn't even pause as they left the gate.

A family came off the plane. _Tourists_, Yvette noted.

More people came down the gangway but were all passed over for various reasons; too young, too old, etc.

"No sign of Hampton." McG voiced what everything was thinking, "I figured he'd be in first class."

"I told you he's not on the plane." Yvette reminded.

"So who is?" Dalton snapped.

"Someone he wants us to notice." Yvette knew tradecraft and sleight of hand. "You see someone you recognize and all your focus automatically goes to that person. Then they are able to sneak in whatever they want."

"But not actually Hampton." Dalton pointed out the irony of her statement.

"No. If he shows up, I'd kill him without a second thought."

McG's eyes widened and he looked at the French woman. She was serious.

"Revenge doesn't feel as good as you think it will." Preach's steady voice came over their comms.

"Who said it would be revenge? This is my job…protect France and my family." Yvette watched as a sandy haired man strolled off the plane. Jaz noticed the military haircut, "They've really got to work on their undercover persona."

"Sometimes they want you to notice certain people. You are tricked into thinking that they are who you are waiting for so you focus on them and stop looking." Yvette was watching a wiry dark-skinned man leave the plane. Weighted down with bags, he balanced them well as he spoke with the female at the counter.

"You're giving Hampton more credit that he deserves." Dalton stated.

Yvette blinked, "You don't seem to understand what he is capable of."

"And you do?" Jaz retorted.

"Hampton was a field agent for years with high profile ops and international contacts; don't underestimate him just because he has become a supervisor." Yvette pointed out, "He had his pick of agencies; he is going to get the best to assist him. Military man is a dead giveaway, you want someone that people won't expect." Yvette studied a blond woman with a computer bag slung over her shoulder.

"I hate saying this but she makes sense." Amir looked at more passengers as the main cabin continued to empty out.

"Merde!" The swear word slipped out of the native French speaker. The special ops team automatically looked at Yvette. She spoke quietly into the microphone on her wrist. Yvette hadn't offered any of them connection to her radio so they had no idea what she was saying.

"What's up?" Dalton wondered.

Yvette didn't respond as she moved toward a passenger. Jaz followed her focus and blanched when she also recognized the man.

He was in his late 50s or 60s, tall, confident and gave a smile when he saw the Frenchwoman. He stepped toward her, "Good to see you."

"You know I don't feel the same. What are you doing here?" Yvette's voice was on edge.

"Working."

She crossed her arms, "You definitely don't have a work permit so that's not true. I knew you have a history with Hampton but I didn't think he would want you here."

"You should have counted on it."

"Because he wants to kill me and you are the guy to do it?"

"Murdering you has never been my goal." The man's voice was smooth and calm.

"Then you are just here to threaten and confuse me?"

"Of course." The man smiled.

She raised an eyebrow, "You know Jaz is here, right?"

"Yes."

"So are you trying to protect me from Jaz…or Jaz from me?" As she spoke, the new man saw an employee door open behind Yvette.

"Does it matter? You two have more in common than either of you want to admit." He waited a beat for the two airport employees who exited the door to move away. As the door slowly began to close, the male traveler shoved Yvette toward it. She stumbled backward at his force.

"What are you…?" Yvette grabbed his arms to keep herself upright but he controlled her movements propelling her back through the opening and then out of the terminal.

"Let me go…" Her voice was cut off when the door slammed behind them blocking the American's line of sight to the Paris woman.

"Yvette!" Amir couldn't get to her in time.

"Not good." Dalton said was everyone was thinking.

"What happened?" Patricia had been watching other people on the video screens that she had missed the Frenchwoman getting separated from the group, "Did he just kidnap her?"

McGuire grabbed the door handle. "It's locked."

"We've got to get to her." Preach looked around for another entrance. Amir looked at the flight attendant who appeared to know Yvette and she apparently was oblivious to the situation that had just happened. She stayed at the customer service counter and was helping the disembarking passengers.

"Top, that was my dad!" Jaz was reeling and confused.

"Your dad?!" Dalton's jaw dropped.

"Did Yvette say he knew Hampton?" McG wondered.

"Yeah."

"I had no idea." Jaz was shocked.

"We need to find her. Is there another door to get where she is?" Dalton looked around, "Noah?"

"Working on it." The tech was scrambling to click through pages as he searched the hacked floor plans.

Preach glanced back to the door and saw Yvette come back—without the man, "She's back."

Yvette gestured to the team, "Let's go."

She was stopped by a male. He laid a hand on her arm and leaned in close. Their quick words were in French, but Jaz caught a few as she approached.

"…doing fine." Yvette told him.

"Keep going." The man broke off from her and stayed in the departure gate while Yvette headed away, leading the American back where they came from. Dalton watched him warily.

Jaz reached for Yvette, "You obviously know my father: did you kill him?"

"Of course not!"

"You just left him there?"

"No."

"So what happened?"

"He's been arrested." The Frenchwoman retorted

"How do you know him?" Preach asked as he neared the two.

"Ephraim's a longtime coworker and friend of Hampton's." Yvette admitted, "I just didn't think Hampton would recruit him for this." She stopped at an airport flight desk and asked in French, "Did they get tagged?"

"Oui." The man smiled.

"Surveillance teams in place?"

"Yes ma'am. Here is a list of passengers." He gave her two pieces of paper.

"Match every person on the flight. I want all ID's checked." Yvette scanned the names, "Be sure all the photos match the person and run them through the database. Check any online presence for concerns. I want to know about anyone who sets off a flag: photo doesn't match or even if they have all the right answers but something doesn't feel right. Can I keep this?" She held up the paper. He nodded and she stepped back to the Americans. "Let's go."

"Why are we leaving?" McG asked.

"All the passengers aren't off the plane yet." Preach pointed out.

"The important ones are." Yvette told them.

"What is going on and where is Jaz's father?" Dalton tried to slow her down.

"Ephraim can handle himself so don't worry about him. Hampton's good but he obviously doesn't mind sacrificing you so don't push me." Yvette snapped as she headed for the airport entrance. She moving fast and the Americans had to quicken their pace to keep up.

"What is this all about?" Jaz was thrown by her dad's appearance.

"I'm guessing you weren't told about your families spy history." Yvette was not happy.

"What are you talking about? He was furious with me for joining the military. Even less thrilled about applying for special forces." Jaz argued

"He probably wanted you to join the CIA. Ephraim was one of their best spies. He recruited and trained most of their top agents, definitely a company man."

Jaz's mouth dropped open. She closed it as memories ran through her mind, "You have to be mistaken."

"No, I'm not." Yvette's voice was strong, "Ephraim Khan is a first-rate CIA operative and not someone you want to mess with."


	9. Fallout

9:57pm Paris

The group headed to the French safehouse while Dalton picked up the satellite phone.

"Patricia, there has been a development," Dalton told her, "Ephraim Khan, Jaz's father, has shown up. He was on the flight to Paris but Director Hampton wasn't." He was quiet as he listened to her response.

"You haven't really said how you know my father." Jaz wouldn't let go and confronted their host again.

"He has a habit of showing up at really bad times." Yvette concentrated on the list of passenger names, pausing on a familiar one.

"That really was vague." McG pointed out.

"I've known him for years." She glanced at the medic, "He tried to manipulate or leverage me into helping him many times and he's very good at it. He tried to turn me about 10 years ago, wanted a source in French Intelligence."

"You have that kind of clout?" Preach was impressed.

"He wants me to have that level but I'm happy where I am." She didn't look up.

"Fighting terrorists?" Amir watched her. The arrival was unexpected and he was seeing Yvette under pressure. But he was still looking for a weakness or a tell.

"And apparently Americans." She shot a glare at him.

Preach pulled the van into the driveway of the safe house and everyone got out.

"Hampton trusting Ephraim is not something I would have expected. In fact, I would have bet on the exact opposite because it puts Jaz in a very precarious position." Yvette paused a moment looking at the other woman, "When it comes to it—and it will—what will you do? Will you do your job or will you try to protect your father?"

Jaz hesitated a moment thinking about the question, "Where is he?"

"Being interviewed by intelligence." She headed inside the French safe house.

"Tortured?" Visions of her experiences in Tehran ran through her mind.

"Probably not. He's traveling on a flagged passport but was getting caught part of the plan?" Yvette's voice trailed off as she reflected. She blinked and looked at the Americans, "I'm sure your boss is already calling to get him released."

"Will they release him?" Preach asked.

"They will want something in return."

"Like what?" McG chimed in.

"How about my sister and niece?" Yvette snapped as they gathered in the house.

"Why does Hampton care about you?" Amir watched her actions.

"That is something my bosses have been asking me for a long time." Yvette revealed.

"No answers?" He followed up.

She met his gaze, "Plenty of ideas but not sure which is right."

Amir caught a slight pause before her response and wondered what it meant.

"Wait a minute. You just had my dad arrested and you still expect me to help you?" Jaz's voice got louder.

"I expect you to follow orders." Yvette looked at Dalton as he came into the room. "Is Director Campbell pulling you out?"

Dalton slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Not yet. Hampton will show up here and we are to take him back with us to Turkey."

"That will cause jurisdiction issues." Preach warned.

"France won't care, you can have him. I just want my family." Yvette responded.

"And I want my dad back." Jaz snapped.

"He had an active warrant so you're going to have an issue with that." Yvette told her.

Dalton opened their computer for a video call. Patricia's face popped up on the screen, "Yvette, why did you leave after Ephraim Khan arrived?"

"The three people after Ephraim are CIA agents." Yvette told them.

"What?" Dalton turned to her.

"Your focus was on me and Ephraim so you missed the people getting off the plane." She reminded, "Plus a woman from earlier and possibly the man right before Ephraim."

"But what about Hampton?" Preach asked, "Any leads on him?"

"Nothing yet." Noah admitted.

"What does Hampton want?" McG asked. They all turned to the Frenchwoman. She blinked gathering her thoughts, "Information."

"He is the Director of the agency, what could you possibly have that he would need?" McG was skeptical.

Yvette shot him a look, "Just because he is a director doesn't mean he is all knowing."

"What information does he want?" Patricia asked.

"I will never see my family again if I give you that." Yvette was hard to read.

Patricia pushed, "I'm not going to tell Hampton."

"You aren't ordering Dalton to leave so that tells me you don't consider me a threat and that's not a good idea." Yvette looked around the room, "I was sent to Africa to kill ISIS leaders, so don't try some stupid, "life is precious" argument on me. Hampton sent this special force unit to confront me then recruited Ephraim Khan—Jaz's father—add pressure, so I don't have any room to trust you."

"We are not on Hampton's side." Noah promised, "You helped me so much when we met. I'm trying to return the favor and help you."

"You think I helped you?" Yvette looked surprised, "You really believe that?"

Noah hesitated.

"Noah, when I met you, Hampton had a hit out on me. I had to deal with three American special ops—within a week—targeting me. Obviously, I survived. And the next American I see is you."

Noah's jaw dropped as he looked at his boss. She was not happy.

"I'm guessing it was Hampton that sent you to Romania." She prodded the technician.

Noah blinked.

Yvette caught the tell, "He didn't care if you came back alive. He just needed you to distract me so he would have time to get the next operative in the country. That one nearly did succeed."

"But you didn't kill me so you can't be all that bad." Noah reasoned.

"That's a very naive view." Yvette sighed, "Your assignment in Romania was finding Caleb."

"Yes."

"And why was I looking for him?"

Noah though back, "You didn't say."

"I wasn't." The room was silent at her words. Yvette met Dalton's gaze, "You really need me to spell it out?"

Noah looked at his boss. Patricia knew where this was going and closed her eyes.

"Caleb was one of the operatives who came after me before Noah arrived." Yvette revealed.

"So you killed him." Joseph realized. She didn't respond.

"But why stick around afterward?" Preach asked.

"How else could I deflect America's investigation?" Yvette shrugged, "If the US was going to trust a rookie operative to look into it, why would I NOT stick around to screw things up?"

Hannah stared at her keyboard partner. He was at a loss for words.

"If they were trying to kill you, why didn't you target Noah?" Dalton asked.

Yvette was expressionless, "My life depends on reading people—quickly. He was an inexperienced field agent, what's the point?"

"You're a killer—that's the point." Dalton argued.

"Never said I wasn't." She retorted, "But I am smart enough to pick my battles and that was not worth the risk."

Noah winced.

"So what now?" Jaz wondered.

"I have reasons to kill most the people in this room, and I believe Hampton knew that. That has to be his reason for choosing your team." She exhaled.

"What do you mean?" Patricia questioned.

"When this team arrive, I think you are all on Hampton's side. Probably here to kidnap or kill me. So I react." Yvette gestured with her hands, "What would happen if you were all out of contact or missing or presumed dead? The DIA would throw all its resources into finding out what happened to you—which means sending more operatives to find me. In the meantime, Hampton's kidnapping of my family would get lost by the wayside—and if he was lucky, an American would kill me and then it would be over."

"Why would your first reaction be to kill any of them?" Patricia wondered.

"Years ago, Dalton tried to kill me."

"What?" Dalton was floored.

"You really don't recognize me?" Yvette faced him.

He blinked.

"You attacked so many people you can't remember three unarmed women you tried to kill?"

Memories came flooding back from his first military deployment. Dalton's army friends and teammates had died in targeted attacks against the American military. The rumors were all over the unit as to the truth but Dalton had some contacts who could separate fact from fiction. They said that intelligence had narrowed the acts to a terrorist family who were trying to make waves in the new country. Dalton recognized the daughter of the family with some friends when he was in town.

"That was you?" Dalton blanched.

"Your training was better than mine and if that officer hadn't stepped in and pulled you off, you would have killed me." Yvette recalled.

Dalton had cornered the three women in an alleyway. He remembered his rage as he reached for them. The images focused as he remembered their faces, "You weren't the daughter…you were one of the friends."

"Oui."

His mind went through the situation, "The one who fought back."

Yvette nodded, "I was there working with American intelligence to track down the mastermind and then attacked by you, an American. Maybe you can see why trusting any of you is not something I do."

"That's only one of us." Jaz pointed out.

"Dalton is your leader; you would follow his orders."

"Not if we were ordered to kill someone without a reason." Jaz argued.

Yvette glanced at Dalton. He swallowed.

"Orders are orders and you follow them. You'd have grounds even though they are flimsy. I asked my country for permission to kill Hamid Khedani while I was in Africa. Everyone seemed to look to him as a leader and I thought that if I took you out of the equation then the ring would dissolve."

"Why not Rakin, he was the leader of the group." Amir really objected to the way things were going.

"Rakin was angry and unpredictable. You were the moral compass who kept him in line. I theorized that without you Rakin would crash and burn." She told them.

Dalton closed his eyes; this op was going from bad to worse to terrible.

"Not that I want to be killed, but why didn't you?" Amir wondered.

"I was told you were protected," Yvette paused, "I figured it meant you were cooperating with someone. I didn't translate it as 'American intelligence. But someone on your side knows about the request." She turned to face him, "Considering what's happening now, Hampton had to be involved. Was he the on the ground supervisor?"

Amir knew not to respond, but Yvette's skill at reading body language was sharp. "Hampton it is."

In America, Hannah entered the observation room but stayed out of the camera's view. She held up a folder and motioned to Patricia.

"We need more intelligence on Hampton. And we will keep trying to locate him." Patricia told the team, "We will call when we have something. Dalton be careful and watch for Hampton's people." She cut off the call and moved toward the other woman, "What is it?"

"Are we disconnected?" Hannah looked worried as she looked at the screens in the room.

Noah confirmed they were, "Yes."

"A body was discovered. There were security cameras so there is a video of the murder. They are double checking and triple checking everything right now but..." Hannah trailed off as she handed her boss the preliminary information.

Patricia read over the report, "This is not good."


	10. Reality

Midnight: Paris, France

The second-floor balcony overlooked the residential neighborhood. The night was still and quiet. A soft wind drifted over the houses, cooling the area. Yvette leaned her elbows on the railing, fingers running through her hair as she stretched her torso. She was exhausted but had to be on guard around the Americans.

"I can't decide if you are hiding from us or preparing to attack." Amir's tone was teasing but his words had been carefully chosen to push her buttons.

Yvette tensed but didn't respond as he stepped next to her at the metal banister. He leaned on the railing, mimicking her posture, "How are you doing?"

Yvette shot him a look.

"Sorry, dumb question," Amir sighed, "I can only imagine."

"I always knew there was a chance I would die on the job. And I accepted that likelihood each time I went undercover. But having my family threatened…I feel so helpless." she trailed off.

They were silent a moment. Amir watched her, "Did you really think we were here to kill you?

"Yes. Don't think I even considered that you were lied to about what was happening."

"It's not exactly what I want to admit, but yeah, we were duped by Hampton." Amir glanced around before looking at her, "Even our boss was fooled, and that rarely happens."

"He worked ops for a long time. He's good."

"Did you ever work with him?"

Yvette blinked, "That's a very obvious dig for information; you are losing your subtle skills."

"Oh really?" He nudged her with his shoulder, "You mean you aren't just going to start blurting out everything that happened to you since we last met?"

Yvette had to laugh. Amir saw her relax a bit and took a chance, leaning toward her, resting his head against hers. She closed her eyes but didn't pull away from him.

"Let us help you find your family." He whispered. Amir felt her internal struggle as he continued, "Why is Hampton after you? We can help find your sister and niece if you tell us what's going on." His voice was soft. _Would she finally admit why this was happening? But even if she said something, would it be the truth?_

"Hampton sent you here and he is the one who kidnapped my family." Yvette pointed out.

"We didn't know." He responded.

"I thought you were a terrorist."

"And you were sleeping with me." Amir reminded.

"I did admit that I planned on killing you!" She took a deep breath as she pulled away. Amir felt her resolve and knew she wasn't going to yield.

"Even without permission?" He wondered.

"I am not the naive, sheltered woman you apparently think I am. I have been groomed for intelligence work my entire life. You let a murder happen in front of you in Africa—killing you would not have been a problem." Yvette rubbed her face with her hands, "The issue I struggled with was…would I get away with it or would Rakin kill me?"

Amir watched the woman. He had seen glimpses of vulnerability through the hours but he wondered if it was an act. _She wants her family back but at what cost? The lives of 5 American agents?_

"How did you meet Zafer?" Amir asked a question that had been bugging him.

"Who?" Yvette straightened up and faced him.

"The guy who said he was your uncle."

"He came to us. He wanted a better life for his grandchildren."

Guilt made Amir look away. Years ago, he thought it was a good decision to stay in Rakin's good graces but as time wore on, his actions had done nothing to dissuade the members from committing to their martyrdom plans.

His undercover job ended when a cell member had blown up a suicide vest in a crowded location. Seventeen people died. Amir was pulled out as soon as Hampton had found out it was his ISIS group responsible. He had tried to keep track of members of the group but most had disappeared.

Preach poked his head out, "You both are needed us downstairs."

Amir and Yvette entered the house and headed to the room. The American's were gathered around the computer.

Noah was on the screen alone.

"We are all here." Dalton let him know.

"A body was recovered." Noah's voice was quiet. Yvette instantly knew what was coming. Surrounded by foreign agents, she steeled herself for the bad news.

"Yvette, we are positive the body is your sister Jennifer." Noah admitted.

She moved away from the group, cleverly hiding her face without being entirely obvious. "How sure are you?" Her voice was strong but it was forced, Amir noted.

"98.2 percent familial match to Yvette's."

She turned around, "Where did you get my DNA?"

"You were part of a joint US-French Military op in 2006."

Yvette paced, thinking back to that time, "Iraq translation job, also when I met Dalton. I did give my DNA."

"Sounds like you worked with the Americans a lot." McG pointed out.

"True…but I don't exactly LIKE working for the US." Yvette snapped back. She turned to the technician, "You are positive about it being Jennifer?"

"Yes. There was a witness and we found a security camera with video of the death and the body matches the injuries in the video."

"Security video? From where?" Joseph wondered.

"Turkey."

Yvette raised her eyebrows, "Incirlik?"

"Yes."

"Please don't tell me it was the military base!" Dalton's eyes widened.

"Still analyzing," Noah stalled.

"Of course, that's another reason he needed your team sent here." Yvette realized as she turned away.

"I am so sorry Yvette." Preach told her.

Her face was a blank slate to all watching but inside her heart was breaking. Her sister…was gone.

"I want her body sent here." Yvette concentrated on controlling her tone.

"Hannah's working on that."

"But isn't there an investigation?" Preach wondered.

"I don't care, I want her here." She fought the desire to cry and scream. Yvette closed her eyes, resisting the wave of despair but it was winning. A tear trickled down her face. She turned away from the team and strode quickly out of the room.

Amir didn't even hesitate as he went after her. He followed her in the foyer of the home as she paced aimlessly. She saw him when she turned and grimaced, "Go away Amir."

He reached for her, "Yvette I am so sorry."

Yvette tried to push him away, "Leave me alone."

But he ignored her and wrapped her in a hug. Her sobs burst out as he held her to his chest.

"I am so sorry." Amir's words made her cry harder and she clung to him.

Amir remembered the first time he had held her. It was just moments after Zafer was shot. She was inconsolable and he had to carry her inside as others took care of the dead man. He had tried to calm her down. "Allah had need of him."

Yvette had tried to pushed him away like she was doing now but he had wanted to be sure she was ok. He had taken her to her room, "Try to sleep."

"I can't." She argued.

"Yes, you can." His hands had pushed her to the bed, "You need to rest." She had stopped resisting and dropped to the floor as he recommended.

In Africa, Amir had knelt next to the bed to pick up a blanket. He spread it over her as their eyes met. Without thinking, he had reached for her face. She was surprised at the touch but maintained eye contact as he gently stroked her cheek and chin.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Amir had stood to leave.

"Thank you." Later than night, Yvette had come to his room. Amir thought then that she was reacting emotionally but had let her stay in his arms. That was the start of their affair.

"I had no idea he would target my sister." Yvette's sobbed words snapped Amir out of his memories, "I would have security on her if I even suspected that!"

"It's not your fault." Amir assured her.

"Then whose fault is it? If I hadn't…hadn't been me, he would have left them alone."

"You were doing what you thought was right."

"And they paid the price." Yvette jerked away and Amir let her go.

"I never talked about family and somehow an American operative found them." Yvette sent a text before looking back at him, "Hampton kidnapped two people close to me; I knew the odds of both of them surviving were basically nonexistent. But that doesn't make her death any easier."

"If I knew something that would help you, I would do it."

"I know." Her eyes met his as she stopped moving, "You are a good man. I knew that in Africa too."

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Dalton asked Noah when Yvette rushed out at the news.

"Patricia tried to talk to French Intelligence but it didn't exactly go well." Noah focused on the unit leader, "There was lots of yelling about espionage and treason. You are going to need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

"Have you heard something?" Jaz wanted to know.

"They appear to be stonewalling us." Noah admitted.

"Which makes sense considering an American did kidnap—and kill a French citizen." Hannah noted.

"And what does that mean for us?" Preach worried.

"They could retaliate as you are in Paris but with open communications Patricia is hopeful." Noah told them.

"So we are supposed to just hang around?" McGuire wondered.

Yvette came back in to the room. Jaz stood up, watching the other woman.

"This definitely changes things Dalton." Noah started when he saw Yvette.

"Hampton has shown what he is capable of but I don't think he can't predict what I am willing to do now." Yvette interrupted.

"Do we want to know?" McG muttered under his breath. Jaz heard his warning and also felt uneasy.

"What does that mean?" Noah wondered about Yvette's words.

"Hampton's daughter is in Paris and I'm supposed to think that is an accident?" She crossed her arms.

"Leave her alone." Dalton warned, his posture snapping to attention to confront her.

"Don't tell me what to do." Yvette watched his actions closely. _Would Dalton cross a line_?

"Where's Patricia?" Preach turned to Noah.

"Arguing with the CIA to hand Hampton over." Noah reported.

Yvette shook her head sadly, "I am a foreign agent; the CIA will believe Hampton is working a case that Patricia is not read into and stall her."

"Maybe not, here she comes." Hannah chimed in as she watched her boss walk into the room.

"What is the plan?" Patricia came into the camera view and addressed the French operative.

"The only thing that Hampton had in his favor is that my family wasn't hurt but that is now gone." She took a breath, "I have to inform my bosses."

"And what will your boss do?" Preach prodded.

She hesitated. "Make me back off." Her fingers dialed the phone as she left the room.

"Dalton," Patricia addressed the leader, "She'll get even more unpredictable now and you need to watch your back."

"Absolutely." Dalton responded.

"What we can prove she's done is only a fraction of what she's been accused of." Patricia told her team leader.

"But she has worked with the US before." Jaz reminded.

"Yes. But we don't really trust her. We are confident she is a French spy. And the CIA suspects she is an assassin so don't underestimate her."

"Assassin." Dalton's chest constricted. He might have willingly walked his team into an ambush.

Patricia tried to be encouraging, "We'll get you out as soon as we can."

"That might not be soon enough."


End file.
